ABERDEEN CONTAMINATED GROUND WATERABERDEEN, NC

Cleanup Activities

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Background

The 1.3-square-mile Aberdeen Contaminated Ground Water site includes an area of contaminated groundwater east of U.S. Highway 1 in Aberdeen, Moore County, North Carolina. EPA placed the site on the Superfund program’s National Priorities List (NPL) in 2008. EPA and the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NCDENR) have investigated site conditions and taken steps to clean up the site in order to protect people and the environment from contamination. Site contamination does not currently threaten people living and working near the site. By designing a cleanup plan, EPA and NCDENR continue to protect people and the environment from site contamination.

What Has Been Done to Clean Up the Site?

The 26.8-acre Powder Metals Products facility is a potential source of the groundwater contamination. From 1980 to 1995, Powder Metals Products made machine parts at its facility. In 1995, PMP sold the property to Diamond Exhaust & Equipment, which operated the facility as a wholesale automotive exhaust parts distribution center. It is not known whether Diamond Exhaust & Equipment used any chemicals or solvents (substances used to dissolve other substances). Diamond Exhaust & Equipment sold the property to CALCO Enterprises, a company providing mechanical services.

EPA leads site investigation and cleanup activities in cooperation with NCDENR. EPA initiated the remedial investigation at the site in 2008.

In 2009, EPA conducted short-term cleanup activities, including pumping out a septic tank thought to be contributing to groundwater contamination.

Using federal money, EPA completed the remedial investigation and feasibility study for the site in 2012 and issued an Interim Record of Decision (ROD) in March 2012 and Operable Unit (OU) 1 ROD in September 2014.

EPA split the site into two operable units with the issuance of the September 2014 ROD Amendment. OU-1 addresses the impacted supply wells for the Town of Aberdeen and OU-2 addresses the groundwater contamination in the aquifers.

EPA provided oversight during the implementation of the OU-1 cleanup effort.

EPA prepared a Proposed Plan that evaluated the potential cleanup alternatives for OU-1. The two alternatives compared in the Proposed Plan were:

the installation and operation of wellhead treatment systems on Town of Aberdeen public water supply wells #5 and #9 and

the installation of new supply wells that will provide equivalent water capacity as supplied by wells #5 and #9.

One of the identified potentially responsible parties (PRPs), North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), implemented the OU-1 remedy through an agreement with the Town of Aberdeen in 2015, where the Town conducts/contracts out the work and NCDOT reimburses the Town for expenditures. This work will be completed the end of calendar year 2018.

EPA anticipates issuing a Proposed Plan for OU-2 - the plume at large in 2020.

What Is the Current Site Status?

EPA issued an interim site cleanup plan in March 2012. It included: 1) the installation and operation of wellhead treatment systems on Town of Aberdeen public water supply wells #5 and #9; and 2) the construction and operation of a pump-and-treat system to address the plume at large. In 2013, EPA decided to address the two interim remedies in two final remedy decision documents: one to address Town of Aberdeen public supply wells and one to address the cleanup of the plume at large.

The remedy required by 2014 ROD Amendment for OU-1 consisted of the installation of new supply well(s) for the Town of Aberdeen in an area where the quality of the underlying groundwater has not been adversely impacted by past anthropic activities to replace supply wells #5 and #9 (attaining the pumping capacity prior to the shutdown of well #5). This remedial action involved the following activities:

drilling and testing a test well at each location;

purchasing the necessary property and/or easements;

drilling/constructing the supply well(s);

constructing well head protection enclosure(s);

improving well #6 building/treatment to handle the additional flow of water from the new well(s); and

The Aberdeen Contaminated Ground Water site TCE plume and the pesticide plume associated with the Geigy Chemical Corporation Superfund site have become co-mingled. Therefore, these proposed treatment systems would need to remove both of these contaminants.

The EPA will begin the remedial design once the proposed interim site cleanup plan is finalized in a ROD.

Enforcement Information

EPA has identified several viable potentially responsible parties for the site. Although EPA used federal funds to conduct the remedial investigation/ feasibility study, EPA will pursue efforts to get the identified PRPs to help by for site cleanup activities.